With just nine days until the start of the Pan Am Games, athletes from around the world started to arrive in Toronto on Wednesday.
Dozens of athletes from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago landed at Pearson Airport.
Many of them had never been to Canada and didn’t know what to expect, especially when it came to the weather in a country commonly referred to as the “Great White North.”
“The weather is really good,” said Dariel Pimentelli of the Cuban sailing team. “We were thinking the weather was going to be really cold or something like that, but everything is okay.”
Athletes who had visited Toronto in the past said they were excited to be back and are looking forward to more than just the Games.
“(Toronto) is lovely,” said Trinidad and Tobago field hockey player Dillet Gilkes. “I’m a big fan of the sushi as well.”
The Pan Am Games often serves as a qualifier for the Olympics, putting extra pressure on many of the athletes.
“I’ve been at it for over 12 years and I still get butterflies before games,” Gilkes said. The Pan Am Games, he said, are “right at the very top” of the sporting world.
The Pan Am Games will be the largest sporting event Toronto has ever hosted.
The Games are set to begin on July 10 with diving and tennis.
With a report from Colin D'Mello
